CV Kurt Alder

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

CV Kurt Alder Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr. Kurt Alder Name: Kurt Alder Lebensdaten: 10. Juli 1902 - 20. Juni 1958 Kurt Alder war ein deutscher Chemiker. Er untersuchte die Anlagerung des von ihm so benannten Azodicarbonsäurediethylesters an ungesättigte Kohlenwasserstoffe. Sein Verdienst ist es, die Universalität dieses Reaktionstyps erkannt zu haben. Das Phänomen trägt heute den Namen Diels- Alder-Reaktion oder auch Diensynthese. Es spielt in der Analyse und bei der Bildung komplexer organischer Verbindungen eine bedeutende Rolle. Mit Hilfe von Diels-Alder-Reaktionen konnten in der Vergangenheit bereits viele Naturstoffe synthetisch hergestellt werden. Akademischer und beruflicher Werdegang Nachdem Alder zunächst ein Semester in Berlin Chemie studiert hatte, setzte er seine Ausbildung an der Universität Kiel fort. 1924 machte er dort sein Examen. Zwei Jahre später wurde er promoviert. Das Thema seiner Arbeit lautete: „Über die Ursachen und den Verlauf der Azoester-Reaktionen“. Sie wurde vom damaligen Chef des Chemischen Instituts der Universität Kiel Otto Diels betreut, mit dem gemeinsam Alder später den Nobelpreis für Chemie erhielt. 1930 habilitierte sich Alder im Fach Chemie, 1934 wurde er außerordentlicher Professor in Kiel. Seine Forschungsarbeit in jenen Jahren wurde vom allgemeinen Mangel der Zeit überschattet. So kam es auch zu Spannungen mit seinem Doktorvater Otto Diels. Aus diesem Grund verließ Alder 1936 seine Wirkungsstätte und wechselte zur IG Farben nach Leverkusen. Dort forschte er als Abteilungsvorstand im wissenschaftlichen Hauptlabor an der Weiterentwicklung des synthetischen Kautschuks Buna. Im Zusammenhang mit diesen beruflichen und räumlichen Veränderungen habilitierte sich Alder ein zweites Mal, diesmal an der Universität Köln, an der er ab 1937 als Dozent tätig war. Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 1 Im Jahr 1940 folgte er einem Ruf auf den Lehrstuhl für Chemie der Universität Köln. Zugleich leitete er seither das zugehörige Chemische Institut. Während des zweiten Weltkriegs wurde der Fachbereich Chemie der Universität Köln nach Marburg ausgelagert, so dass Alder erst 1945 in die Domstadt zurückkehren konnte. Am 21. März 1958 heiratete Kurt Alder seine langjährige Freundin Gertrud Bilzer. Wenig später, am 20. Juni des gleichen Jahres, starb Kurt Alder in Köln an den Folgen einer bereits seit längerem bestehenden Herzerkrankung. Kurz zuvor hatte er in einem Brief an den ständigen Arbeitsausschuss für die Tagungen der Nobelpreisträger geschrieben: „Die pausenlose und ständig wachsende Überforderung des aktiven deutschen Hochschullehrers mit immer wieder neuen Aufgaben hat in meinem Fall nach jahrelangem Raubbau meiner Kräfte zu Erschöpfungserscheinungen geführt, die mir den dringenden ärztlichen Rat eingetragen haben, mir vorerst absolute Schonung aufzuerlegen.“ Nobelpreis für Chemie 1950 Kurt Alder erhielt im Jahr 1950 gemeinsam mit Otto Diels den Nobelpreis für Chemie. Damit wurden sie für die Entdeckung und Entwicklung der Dien-Synthese geehrt, die auch als Diels-Alder-Reaktion bekannt ist. Damit wird ein Reaktionsmechanismus beschrieben, bei dem ein Dien und eine dieses Dien liebende Substanz, das so genannte Dienophil, zu einer neuen chemischen Verbindung reagieren. Das Lebenswerk Alders, die Diensynthese, entstand aus der Zusammenarbeit mit seinem Lehrer Otto Diels. Dieser hatte ihm und anderen Doktoranden Anfang der 1920er Jahre die Aufgabe gestellt, die Addition von Azodicarbonsäureester an ungesättigte Verbindungen zu untersuchen. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Diene Azoester stets in 1,4-Stellung addieren. Offenbar war es Alder, der den gewagten und entscheidenden Schritt tat und den Azodicarbonsäureester durch isologe Kohlenstoffverbindungen ersetzte. Beide Komponenten reagierten miteinander, und damit war die Grundlage für ein völlig neuartiges Aufbauprinzip organischer Verbindungen geschaffen. Dies ist als Diels-Alder-Diensynthese in die organische Chemie eingegangen. Mit der theoretischen Aufklärung dieses Reaktionsverlaufs gelang es Alder und Diels, die Möglichkeit der Synthese von Naturstoffen bedeutend zu erweitern. Dies gilt insbesondere für höhermolekulare Verbindungen, deren chemische Komplexität einfachen Synthesewegen bis dahin entgegenstand. Auszeichnungen und verliehene Mitgliedschaften Als Anerkennung für seine bis dahin geleistete Arbeit wurde Alder 1938 mit der Emil-Fischer- Denkmünze des Verbands Deutscher Chemiker ausgezeichnet. Im Jahr 1939 wurde er außerdem zum Mitglied der Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina gewählt. 1950 erhielt er die Ehrendoktorwürde der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Köln; 1955 folgte diejenige der Universität im spanischen Salamanca. Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 2 Kurt Alder und sein Werk sind an seinen Wirkungsstätten bis heute unvergessen. So hat die Stadt Köln eine Straße nach ihm benannt. Darüber hinaus trägt der größte Hörsaal des Chemischen Instituts in der Domstadt seinen Namen. Anlässlich seines 100. Geburtstages im Jahr 2002 ehrte ihn die Universität Köln mit einer Ausstellung über sein Leben und Wirken. Alders Witwe stiftete im Jahr 1991 testamentarisch den Kurt-Alder-Preis. Er wird seither in Köln alljährlich an Studierende für Arbeiten im Bereich der Organischen Chemie verliehen. Sogar ein Mondkrater heißt zu seinen Ehren seit 1979 Alder-Krater. Zwei Insektizide, die mittels einer Diels-Alder-Reaktion hergestellt werden können, tragen seinen Namen und den Namen von Otto Diels: Aldrin und Dieldrin. Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 3 .
Recommended publications
  • Śląscy Nobliści: Otto Stern Kurt Alder Friedrich Bergius Śląscy Nobliści: Otto Stern, Kurt Alder, Friedrich Bergius Otto Stern ● Ur
    Śląscy nobliści: Otto Stern, Kurt Alder, Friedrich Bergius Śląscy nobliści: Otto Stern Kurt Alder Friedrich Bergius Śląscy nobliści: Otto Stern, Kurt Alder, Friedrich Bergius Otto Stern ● ur. 17 lutego 1888 r. w Żorach ● zm. 17 sierpnia 1969 r.w Berkeley w stanie Kalifornia ● niemiecki fizyk ● wnuk bogatego kupca żydowskiego, właściciela żorskiego młyna ● w 1982 r. przeniósł się z rodziną do Wrocławia ● w 1912 r. uzyskał tytuł doktora chemii fizycznej na Uniwersytecie Wrocławskim ● podążając za Albertem Einsteinem, udał się na Uniwersytet Karola w Pradze, a rok później na Politechnikę w Zurychu ● tytuł doktora chemii fizycznej na Uniwersytecie Wrocławskim w roku 1912 r. ● jego rozprawa doktorska dotyczyła ciśnienia osmotycznego dwutlenku węgla w stężonych roztworach. Miała charakter zarówno praktyczny, jak też i teoretyczny. ● sam siebie określił jako „teoretyka doświadczalnego” Śląscy nobliści: Otto Stern, Kurt Alder, Friedrich Bergius ● w czasie I wojny światowej służył w różnych jednostkach technicznych armii pruskiej ● po klęsce Cesarstwa Niemieckiego przeniósł się do Frankfurtu ● w 1921 r. otrzymał stanowisko profesora fizyki teoretycznej na Uniwersytecie w Rostocku ● w 1923 r. objął stanowisko dyrektora w nowo powstałym Instytucie Chemii Fizycznej na Uniwersytecie w Hamburgu ● w 1922 r.wraz z Walterem Gerlachem przeprowadził eksperyment zwany „doświadczeniem Sterna-Gerlacha”, dzięki któremu doświadczalnie udowodnili kwantowanie momentu pędu, przyczynił się do rozwoju młodej fizyki kwantowej ● w 1933 r., ze względu na częściowe korzenie żydowskie, wyemigrował do USA ● do 1945 r. był profesorem na Carnegie Institute of Technology w Pittsburgu. Tam przystąpił do budowy laboratorium molekularnego ● 1943 r. przyniósł Sternowi Nobla z fizyki W uznaniu jego wkładu w rozwój metody wiązki molekularnej i jego odkrycia momentu magnetycznego protonu.
    [Show full text]
  • Chemists Suggest a New Way to Synthesize Steroid Analogs 15 November 2017
    Chemists suggest a new way to synthesize steroid analogs 15 November 2017 tandem cascade of reactions—the reactions proceed successively in the same flask under the same reaction conditions: acylation of the nitrogen atom of the starting 3-thienylallylamine with maleic anhydride, the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction and subsequent aromatization of the cycloaddition adduct," says Fedor Zubkov, assistant professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the RUDN University. Diene synthesis (or the Diels-Alder reaction) is one of the most popular reactions in organic chemistry. It involves synchronous formation of two sigma- double bonds from one double bond of dienophile Intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction discussed in the and two double bonds of diene; the main product is research. Credit: Fedor Zubkov a six-membered ring with one double bond. Otto Diels and Kurt Alder received the Nobel Prize in 1950 for this reaction. Another Nobel laureate, Robert Woodward, was inspired and bound his life Scientists from RUDN University and the Ivan with chemistry after reading about Diels-Alder's Franko National University of Lviv have found a reaction. Later, he returned to it in his studies way to produce aromatic rings in organic several times. Curiously enough, it was Robert compounds in three stages. These stages proceed Woodward who founded the Tetrahedron Letters successively in one-pot conditions and at room journal, which published this paper by Russian temperature. Now analogues of hormones, scientists. steroids, some sugars, terpenes and other complex organic substances can be synthesized The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction runs inside faster and at softer conditions. The paper was one molecule.
    [Show full text]
  • Synthesis of Substituted Ring- Fused 2-Pyridones and Applications in Chemical Biology
    Synthesis of Substituted Ring- Fused 2-Pyridones and Applications in Chemical Biology Christoffer Bengtsson Doctoral thesis Department of Chemistry Umeå University Umeå, Sweden 2013 Copyright © Christoffer Bengtsson 2013 ISBN: 978-91-7459-552-9 Electronic version available at http://umu.diva-portal.org/ Printed by: VMC-KBC, Umeå University Umeå, Sweden 2013 Author Christoffer Bengtsson Title Synthesis of Substituted Ring-Fused 2-Pyridones and Applications in Chemical Biology Abstract Antibiotics have been extensively used to treat bacterial infections since Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin 1928. Disease causing microbes that have become resistant to antibiotic drug therapy are an increasing public health problem. According to the world health organization (WHO) there are about 440 000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis emerging annually, causing at least 150 000 deaths. Consequently there is an immense need to develop new types of compounds with new modes of action for the treatment of bacterial infections. Presented herein is a class of antibacterial ring-fused 2- pyridones, which exhibit inhibitory effects against both the pili assembly system in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), named the chaperone usher pathway, as well as polymerization of the major curli subunit protein CsgA, into a functional amyloid fibre. A pilus is an organelle that is vital for the bacteria to adhere to and infect host cells, as well as establish biofilms. Inhibition of the chaperone usher pathway disables the pili assembly machinery, and consequently renders the bacteria avirulent. The focus of this work has been to develop synthetic strategies to more efficiently alter the substitution pattern of the aforementioned ring- fused 2-pyridones.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Burns Woodward
    The Life and Achievements of Robert Burns Woodward Long Literature Seminar July 13, 2009 Erika A. Crane “The structure known, but not yet accessible by synthesis, is to the chemist what the unclimbed mountain, the uncharted sea, the untilled field, the unreached planet, are to other men. The achievement of the objective in itself cannot but thrill all chemists, who even before they know the details of the journey can apprehend from their own experience the joys and elations, the disappointments and false hopes, the obstacles overcome, the frustrations subdued, which they experienced who traversed a road to the goal. The unique challenge which chemical synthesis provides for the creative imagination and the skilled hand ensures that it will endure as long as men write books, paint pictures, and fashion things which are beautiful, or practical, or both.” “Art and Science in the Synthesis of Organic Compounds: Retrospect and Prospect,” in Pointers and Pathways in Research (Bombay:CIBA of India, 1963). Robert Burns Woodward • Graduated from MIT with his Ph.D. in chemistry at the age of 20 Woodward taught by example and captivated • A tenured professor at Harvard by the age of 29 the young... “Woodward largely taught principles and values. He showed us by • Published 196 papers before his death at age example and precept that if anything is worth 62 doing, it should be done intelligently, intensely • Received 24 honorary degrees and passionately.” • Received 26 medals & awards including the -Daniel Kemp National Medal of Science in 1964, the Nobel Prize in 1965, and he was one of the first recipients of the Arthur C.
    [Show full text]
  • A Nobel Synthesis
    MILESTONES IN CHEMISTRY Ian Grayson A nobel synthesis IAN GRAYSON Evonik Degussa GmbH, Rodenbacher Chaussee 4, Hanau-Wolfgang, 63457, Germany he first Nobel Prize for chemistry was because it is a scientific challenge, as he awarded in 1901 (to Jacobus van’t Hoff). described in his Nobel lecture: “The synthesis T Up to 2010, the chemistry prize has been of brazilin would have no industrial value; awarded 102 times, to 160 laureates, of whom its biological importance is problematical, only four have been women (1). The most but it is worth while to attempt it for the prominent area for awarding the Nobel Prize sufficient reason that we have no idea how for chemistry has been in organic chemistry, in to accomplish the task” (4). which the Nobel committee includes natural Continuing the list of Nobel Laureates in products, synthesis, catalysis, and polymers. organic synthesis we arrive next at R. B. This amounts to 24 of the prizes. Reading the Woodward. Considered by many the greatest achievements of the earlier organic chemists organic chemist of the 20th century, he who were recipients of the prize, we see that devised syntheses of numerous natural they were drawn to synthesis by the structural Alfred Nobel, 1833-1896 products, including lysergic acid, quinine, analysis and characterisation of natural cortisone and strychnine (Figure 1). 6 compounds. In order to prove the structure conclusively, some In collaboration with Albert Eschenmoser, he achieved the synthesis, even if only a partial synthesis, had to be attempted. It is synthesis of vitamin B12, a mammoth task involving nearly 100 impressive to read of some of the structures which were deduced students and post-docs over many years.
    [Show full text]
  • Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Werner Heisenberg And
    MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science PREPRINT 203 (2002) Horst Kant Werner Heisenberg and the German Uranium Project Otto Hahn and the Declarations of Mainau and Göttingen Werner Heisenberg and the German Uranium Project* Horst Kant Werner Heisenberg’s (1901-1976) involvement in the German Uranium Project is the most con- troversial aspect of his life. The controversial discussions on it go from whether Germany at all wanted to built an atomic weapon or only an energy supplying machine (the last only for civil purposes or also for military use for instance in submarines), whether the scientists wanted to support or to thwart such efforts, whether Heisenberg and the others did really understand the mechanisms of an atomic bomb or not, and so on. Examples for both extreme positions in this controversy represent the books by Thomas Powers Heisenberg’s War. The Secret History of the German Bomb,1 who builds up him to a resistance fighter, and by Paul L. Rose Heisenberg and the Nazi Atomic Bomb Project – A Study in German Culture,2 who characterizes him as a liar, fool and with respect to the bomb as a poor scientist; both books were published in the 1990s. In the first part of my paper I will sum up the main facts, known on the German Uranium Project, and in the second part I will discuss some aspects of the role of Heisenberg and other German scientists, involved in this project. Although there is already written a lot on the German Uranium Project – and the best overview up to now supplies Mark Walker with his book German National Socialism and the quest for nuclear power, which was published in * Paper presented on a conference in Moscow (November 13/14, 2001) at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology [àÌÒÚËÚÛÚ ËÒÚÓËË ÂÒÚÂÒÚ‚ÓÁ̇ÌËfl Ë ÚÂıÌËÍË ËÏ.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 1: Strategies and Tactics in Organic Synthesis
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology Organic Chemistry 5.511 October 3, 2007 Prof. Rick L. Danheiser Lecture 1: Strategies and Tactics in Organic Synthesis Retrosynthetic Analysis The key to the design of efficient syntheses ". the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy "The end is where we start from...." one, but people do not practice it much." T. S. Eliot, in "The Four Quartets" Sherlock Holmes, in "A Study in Scarlet" Strategy Tactics overall plan to achieve the means by which plan ultimate synthetic target is implemented intellectual experimental retrosynthetic planning synthetic execution TRANSFORMS REACTIONS Target Precursor Precursor Target Definitions Retron Structural unit that signals the application of a particular strategy algorithm during retrosynthetic analysis. Transform Imaginary retrosynthetic operation transforming a target molecule into a precursor molecule in a manner such that bond(s) can be reformed (or cleaved) by known or reasonable synthetic reactions. Strategy Algorithm Step-by-step instructions for performing a retrosynthetic operation. "...even in the earliest stages of the process of simplification of a synthetic problem, the chemist must make use of a particular form of analysis which depends on the interplay between structural features that exist in the target molecule and the types of reactions or synthetic operations available from organic chemistry for the modification or assemblage of structural units. The synthetic chemist has learned by experience to recognize within a target molecule certain units which can be synthesized, modified, or joined by known or conceivable synthetic operations...it is convenient to have a term for such units; the term "synthon" is suggested.
    [Show full text]
  • Carbohydrate Chemistry from Fischer to Now
    GENERAL ARTICLE Carbohydrate Chemistry from Fischer to Now N R Krishnaswamy The story of carbohydrate chemistry from its embryonic stage to the present day high profile research bridging organic chemistry and the life sciences is like a fascinating travelogue through space and time. In this brief article, this intriguing field of natural products chemistry is presented with appro- priate illustrations, with the hope that it will kindle further N R Krishnaswamy interest in the young readers to whom this is primarily ad- was initiated into the dressed. We begin our journey with Emil Fischer and quickly world of natural products traverse some areas of classical and modern organic chemis- by T R Seshadri at try. In the process we come across some familiar landmarks University of Delhi and has carried on the glorious as well as visit a few exotic places before ending on the borders traditions of his mentor. of biology. Beyond this is a region full of promise inviting He has taught at further exploration. Bangalore University, Calicut University and Introduction Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Among organic compounds the most well known, even to lay- men, are the carbohydrates, produced by plants. Green leaves produce glucose using atmospheric carbon dioxide and water with the help of chlorophyll and sunlight. Several molecules of glucose are then condensed together to form cellulose, which serves as a structural material, and starch which acts as a source of food. Glucose, sucrose, cellulose and starch are household names even if the common man may not know that glucose is a constituent of Keywords the other three, two of which are polymers! Within this group, one Carbohydrates, mutarotation, comes across a wide range of molecular sizes (from monomers to Fischer–Kiliani synthesis, cyclo- oligomers to polymers), and shapes.
    [Show full text]
  • Germany Course.Modifications.Pub
    Development of a Disc Rick C. White1, Jani 1Sam Houst 2Southe Cologne We developed a two week “Maymester” course for stu a Two Week Study Abroad Program in Chemist iscoveries in Chemistry and Textiles nis H. White1, John W. White2, Maria Granic-W uston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341 heastern University, Lakeland, FL 33801 students to experience The Course: istry: -White2 The Louvre We developed a two week “Maymester” course for stu cultures outside of the United States, to appreciate the cultures function, and to interact with peoples of other I. The purposes of this course a. to discuss scientific discoveries in their geograph historical context b. to describe the historical times in which the scien c. to show how their work affects us today. II. Planning the course We built the course around Nobel prize winning sci work. We focused on cities where scientific discove then designed the course around these locations, cho students to experience The Course: he way in which these First stop: Rothenburg ob der Tauber her cultures. Topics: 1) The 30 Years War and its Effe 2) The Turn to Scientific Thoug 3) Alchemy: The Break from Ch phical, social, and Better Living Through Chem ientists worked Second Stop: Würzburg Topics: 4) Emil Fischer and Sugars: Triu Career. 5) Wilhelm Röntgen: Discovery scientists and their Medical Breakthroughs overies were made and 6) Werner Heisenberg: When Ex choosing cities of and Moral Lines ber Effect on European Scientism ought Through the Enlightenment Charlatanism to the Quest for emistry (Cagliostro and Paracelsus) Triumph and Tragedy in a Brilliant ery of X-Rays: from Shoe Shopping to n Exciting Science Crosses Ethical then designed the course around these locations, cho close proximity.
    [Show full text]
  • Dream English Dec 2010.Pdf
    Editorial Framework for science news he media, both print and electronic, warming’ and take an alarmist view on Tplay an important role in opinion these phenomena. The features generally formation. As in politics so also in establish clear connections between science related matters, the ideological science, policy and public interest. ‘The E-mail: [email protected] slant of the management is reflected thinning of ozone layer’ and ‘climate in features, editorials and also in news change’ are discussed in similar frames. channels and serious print formats that stories. Enlightened viewers and readers, These tend to seek answers to questions have high credibility and are committed it is blithely hoped, are aware of this and like what the public needs to know about to reach audience with issues that help use correctional filters to absorb the key climate change. development debates. The challenge is to issues. Is there a model that can be adopted impress this public with well-presented Recent weeks have witnessed for increased public understanding of stories that meet their practical and analytical features on the Indo-US issues in science and development like strategic needs. Communicators must technological deals with stress varying from climate change? How can we have a more contribute with balanced reporting on ‘the changing geo-political equations in the informed public that can influence policy? complex matters and reduce the ideological subcontinent and the increasing strategic What have we learnt from media coverage bias consciously.
    [Show full text]
  • Scheme 1. the Reaction Observed by Albrecht and Later by Diels and Alder
    Quinones as Dienophiles in the Diels–Alder Reaction; History and Applications in Total Synthesis Christopher C. Nawrat and Christopher J. Moody* In the canon of reactions available to the organic chemist engaged in total synthesis, the Diels–Alder reaction is among the most powerful and well understood. Its ability to generate rapidly molecular complexity through the simultaneous formation of two carbon-carbon bonds is almost unrivalled, and this is reflected in the great number of applications of it reported in the literature. Historically the use of quinones as dienophiles is highly significant being the very first example investigated by Diels and Alder. Herein we review the application of the Diels–Alder reaction of quinones in the total synthesis of natural products. The highlighted examples span some 60 years from the landmark syntheses of morphine and reserpine by Gates and Woodward respectively in 1952 and 1956, through to the present day examples such as the tetracyclines. 1. History and importance of the Diels–Alder reaction Although the [4 + 2]-cycloaddition reaction now bears the names of Professor Otto Diels and his student Kurt Alder for their seminal publication in 1928,[1] history could easily have been otherwise. Indeed, in the two decades preceding their work, some of the greatest organic chemists of the day, including Thiele, Zincke[2] and von Euler,[3] had already unknowingly observed the reaction occurring.[4] The reaction studied by Diels and Alder was that between cyclopentadiene and benzoquinone, which gave a mixture of mono- and di- adducts (1 and 2), and it was the successful identification of the products, the formation of which was inexplicable with the chemistry known at the time, that ensured them a place in history (Scheme 1).
    [Show full text]
  • List of Nobel Laureates 1
    List of Nobel laureates 1 List of Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (Swedish: Nobelpriset, Norwegian: Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institute, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in the fields of chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine.[1] They were established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, which dictates that the awards should be administered by the Nobel Foundation. Another prize, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, was established in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, for contributors to the field of economics.[2] Each prize is awarded by a separate committee; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Economics, the Karolinska Institute awards the Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Prize in Peace.[3] Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award that has varied throughout the years.[2] In 1901, the recipients of the first Nobel Prizes were given 150,782 SEK, which is equal to 7,731,004 SEK in December 2007. In 2008, the winners were awarded a prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK.[4] The awards are presented in Stockholm in an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.[5] As of 2011, 826 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded a Nobel Prize, including 69 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.[6] Four Nobel laureates were not permitted by their governments to accept the Nobel Prize.
    [Show full text]